Hundreds Turned Away from the WSOP Main Event

Players Left Stunned, Angry

Those words come from Mickey Appleman, a longtime veteran of the World Series of Poker who doesn’t believe he has missed a main event since he first started playing the tournaments 30 years ago. That streak ended today when Harrah’s closed off additional entries to Day 1D of the 2009 main event after reaching the day’s capacity.

Although they won’t have an official estimate until later in the day, WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky believes “at least 500 people” and probably more were turned away from the main event today. With Day 1D at capacity, that makes the unofficial count for total entrants of the 2009 main event “somewhere around the range of 6,400,” according to Palansky.

If that field size does become official, that would be less than the 2008 main event (6,844 players), but more than the 2007 main event field (6,358). With so many players turned away, it’s impossible to know exactly how large the field might have been if those people who were unable to register on Day 1D had registered for one of the first three Day 1s of the main event. Day 1A, Day 1B, and Day 1C featured fields of 1,116, 873, and 1,696, respectively — all well below capacity (approximately 2,700).

“We’re sympathetic because our goal is to accommodate everyone who wants to play. But once we run out of space, there’s gaming licenses at stake,” said Palanksy. “People could start registering on March 1, 2009. It’s hard to say we didn’t give them opportunity to register.”

Harrah’s ultimately decided not to offer alternate spots or allow play to run 10-handed in Day 1D.

As recently as 2006, alternate spots were offered for the main event. In past years, Day 1 of the main event had featured 10-handed tables and even 11-handed tables.

Palanksy said tournament organizers “never” considered offering alternate spots this year — a policy they scrapped a couple years ago — but briefly considered allowing 10-handed play before coming to the conclusion that it would ruin the integrity of the tournament. Day 1A, 1B, and 1C in 2009 were all played nine-handed.

“(The consideration) quickly went away because if we didn’t play all days 10-handed, we’re not going to play one day 10-handed,” said Palansky. “It would affect the integrity of the tournament because you’d have a different set of circumstances.”

The WSOP made the decision not to allow alternates a couple years ago, and stuck with that decision even as approximately 10 of their events sold out in 2009. Alternate spots had been offered in previous years to players who wanted to enter a tournament once seats became available after player eliminations.

“You can’t function a tournament properly with alternates,” said Palansky.

The decision left hundreds of players shocked, confused, and angry. Several well-known players were reportedly unable to register on Day 1D, including Patrik Antonius, T.J. Cloutier, Layne Flack, Ted Forrest, Brandon Adams, and Richard “chufty” Ashby.

Huck Seed, the 1996 world champ, almost didn’t get to play the main event. Despite winning the NBC National Heads-Up Championship this year — and thus automatically earning a seat in the 2009 main event — Seed was left on the rail early on in Day 1D. But Jack Effel, WSOP tournament director, said that Seed was eventually seated because “we had to honor that commitment,” mentioning that there was trouble with the wire transfer from Caesars.

Despite rumors floating around that Antonius eventually got a seat, Effel said at 4 p.m. that he “didn’t make it in.” An official entry list for Day 1D will not be available until tonight.

Despite being told that registration was officially closed, approximately a hundred people remained lined up at the registration cage an hour after day 1D began.

“They know registration is closed, but they just won’t leave,” said a security guard, who declined to give his name. “They’re just hoping and praying that they change their mind and open up registration again.”

WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack eventually addressed the crowd — which one low-level Harrah’s employee described as a “mob that keeps getting bigger and bigger” — and apologized on behalf of the World Series of Poker.

“We are sorry, and I am sorry,” said Pollack.

Palanksy said he wasn’t surprised that day 1D sold out. The WSOP sent out an announcement yesterday at 4 p.m. to various media outlets, saying, “(T)here is a good chance Main Event Day 1D tomorrow may reach capacity.” (Note: Emphasis added by the World Series, not by Card Player.)

However, many of the players who were left stranded — watching the tournament from the outside in — remain stunned.

“I’ve played day 1D for the last two years,” said Adrian Passfild, who flew in from Sussex, England. “I came here at 11:50 a.m. last year, registered, and was in my seat by 12:00 p.m. So I had no expectation that they were going to reach capacity (this year).”

Passfild says that he wishes the World Series would allow alternates.

“John Duthie allowed alternates for EPT London so that everyone could play,” said Passfild. “I don’t see why the World Series has to be any different.”

This is not the first year that players have been turned away from the main event, according to Palansky.

“We have closed it in the past. We had issues last year and in 2007 and in 2006,” said Palansky, who couldn’t provide an estimate on the number of players who were turned away in past years. “It’s a common thing, but for some reason players in the poker community don’t decide to use better judgment and show up earlier to register.”

Trevor McCarthy, who flew in from Australia to play in his first World Series, says he certainly would’ve played an earlier day 1 if he thought there was a chance day 1D might sell out.

“An official on the floor — I would’ve loved to have gotten his name — told me yesterday, ‘Harrah’s likes money. We will not cap it,’” said McCarthy. “I’ve been here for the four days, but I’ve been trying to satellite in. I’m spending a lot of money on a hotel.”

Needless to say, McCarthy isn’t pleased that he’s shut out from the biggest tournament in the world.

“I’ve never played in the World Series,” said McCarthy. “It’s my first time in Vegas, and you know what, I don’t think I’ll be back.”

Comments

It's really too bad that they reached capacity, but is it Harrah's fault this time? NOPE! Official announcements came out months ago about capacity, alternates, and the like. Lazy-a$$ players refuse to read anything and then wanna place blame that they "didn't know". Waaaaaaa. Too friggin bad. Try another Day 1 next year. Great job Harrah's sticking to your guns!!! Nuff Said.

To suggest that players were lazy for not registering earlier is ridiculous.

Jeffrey Pollack admitted today to the hundreds of shut-out players that this is the first year in the 40-year history of the WSOP Main Event that players have been shut out of the tournament. There is a 40-year precedent of no one being rejected, so the hundreds of intelligent players from around the world who flew in yesterday and early this morning were more than reasonable to rely on that precedent. No players saw this coming, including players who have played in dozens of WSOP events over the years and are well informed with regard to tournament procedure and structure.

In terms of preedent this year, there were many days when more than 3000 players played in multiple events at the Rio...the Rio has the room and the tables..maybe they didn't anticipate the number of players today...but they should have.

And they should have anticipated it because Days 1A-1C were played over the July 4th holiday weekend - for that reason alone there should have been more notice of the possibility of getting shut out on what clearly would be the largest turnout day. In addition, banks are closed on the weekend, forcing many players to withdraw money today so they could play - yet another reason why Pollack should have foreseen the influx of people today and put them on more heightened notice of shut-out danger.

The fact is that there was no heightened notice, no back-up plan, and no straight answers for the hundreds of players from all over the world who were tured away. Pollack blew it and hundreds are left
broken hearted and with travel expenses that should be compensated.

I'm not sure I'd call them Lazy but it's hard to argue with the tournament directors that registration was open since March, Days 1A-1C had plenty of spots....What else were they supposed to do? They can't let in an infinite number of people once they hit capacity. Sucks for them but its a good lesson learned.

Really dont see why its such a big problem. Do a day 1E, say to the players, that next year, it would be nice if they played some of the earlier days, and that there will be a 3000 people cap each day. And as "firejeffreypollack" said, it does play a significant role that it is the fourth of july weekend-

For someone that has played in the main event in 2007 and 2008, I have to side with Harrah's on this. You are allowed to wire the entry fee and fax in your registration and a preferred start date (I believe you can mail a bank certified check too). I registered about 3 weeks prior and called to verify my start date. Also in the story were people who flew in yesterday or that have been there for days and waited to register until the last minute. It sucks that they weren't allowed to play but for the person who said they have played with over 3000 in the rio, that is when they used the tent outside and no one liked playing in the tent. It's hot and no a.c. out there. I have been denied into an earlier event at Harrah's in A.C. when I showed up 2 hours before the tournament started and I was alternate number 150, I had to play in the following day's event but that was not Harrah's fault that was mine. I did not plan out properly and I learned my lesson. Most likely so did 500 players today

Also, as far as the 4th of July excuse, it isn't one. Every year the tournament starts on the 4th of July weekend unless the 4th happens to fall in the middle of the week. Last year it was on a Friday and there weren't problems. Instead of offering a day 1E maybe Harrah's should end registration a day before the tournament starts and make every day equal in number of players. Keep in mind it's not fair for the players that play day 1A and 1B that will have a smaller chip stack average after day 2A then will players in Day 1C and Day 1D after Day 2B because more chips are in play during those later days when they merge on Day 3

train the monkeys......bottom line was that players did not want the bigger wait from day 1 to day 2.
i'm happy that they stuck to their guns......might be better to schedule away from 4th of july in the future...

Goes to show you the stupidity of the people running it this year. Every year it is supposed to get better, while this year the only improvment I saw was the avilablity of Pizza hut personal pizzas, Capriottis sandwiches, and the Poker kitchen. The staff was all "Thrown into" the mix as usual, not knowing where to send people, events starting LATE, and now turning away a number of people that would actually consitute a day 1E and a re-structer.

persy you're crazy, I had a personal pan from the pizza hut express there this june, it was cold as can be. I'd hate to think that was an improvement!

Seriously though, this is the players' fault. If it's really such an important event for them professionally, or centered around their vacation, or whatever, they should have registered well in advance.

wow, what a heated topic but i am gonna side with Harrah's on this one. Good for them and too bad for those players that waited until the last minute. If the main event really means that much to you then you should have registered ahead of time and not waited until the last minute. I understand scheduling conflicts, etc., but that is why they offer advance signup months before. If you didn't have the money then, too bad so sad. Quit crying and learn your lessons. I never post to these articles, but this one got me going...

To blame Harrah's for this would be ridiculous. I'm glad to see that they're not going to put up with the laziness of people that think they can show up whenever they want and be assured a seat just because of their name. If they would not have listed the names of the "big time players" that didn't get into the ME, this article would've appealed a little more to me.

I'm really glad to see this happened. I've seen this kind of stuff happen all the way back to January of 2007 when I played in the WSOP Circuit Main Event in Tunica, and they delayed the start of it a whopping hour because of "travel delays" for some of the players. In other words, some of the "big time players" had called in and said they were having travel delays. IF YOU'RE SUCH A "BIG TIME PLAYER", SHOULDN'T YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY FOR AN EXTRA HOTEL NIGHT FOR A WHOPPING $39?! Hell, if you play so much in a casino you should be able to get a complimentary room.

Most of these guys that are whining about not getting in probably even live in Vegas. If I live in Vegas, or planned on playing the ME anyway, I'd want to play as early as possible just to get as many days off as possible to keep from having to play so many days in a row.

I guess I can just sum up my comment by saying that I hate whiners. Thank you for reading.

There was plenty of room on Days 1A, and 1B. People should have entered then or showed up earlier. The blame solely rests on the players. Kudos to Harrah's for not accomodating those people, and maintaining the integrity of the tournament.

It's astounding that players on the level of Adams, Antonius, Appleman, Ashby, Cloutier, Flack, and Forrest waited until the last day to register. The 500 Julius Caesars X $10K = $5 million make it a tough call on one level but a correct one.

The ignorance in this thread is staggering- the fact is, you lot who are blaming the players do not know what you are talking about. Harrahs have ruined this because they didn't balance the day 1's. Last year they temporarily closed 1d, to fill the other days up, then opened it again on the day to accomodate late entries. And there was plenty of space left- about 500 seats. What Palanksy said is complete rubbish- they were taking late registrants until 2p.m in 07 and 08 with no problems whatsoever- I know because I was one in '07 and was there in '08. Alot of guys are playing Bellagio Cup events which are two days if you final table so needed flexibility and were told that there would be no problems. This thing has an overall cap of 12,000, the Rio is a huge venue- there was no expectation that the cap would be reached, numbers are the same as last year. Add to this people's travel plans, money transfer issues and the fact that half of us are recovering from the flu and we were told and believed that a cap was not an issue.

This year the WSOP capped many events early...and during each of those the bigstack tourney at the Venetian was huge...and they took alternates not turning anyone away....hmmmm. I have read many of the events had smaller turnouts ($50k HORSE for one example) and they had their biggest turnout in the $1,000 NLH event....Hey Pollack...do you think the players WANT MORE NL HOLDEM Events??? Over the years, the event has improved in many ways, but not as far as the schedule, ease of access to the tourneys (too few cashiers!) or employee training (most cant answer where the different rooms are located) Just a suggestion...Keep the Rio for all Holdem Events and rather than competing at Ceasers...move the smaller Stud and Horse events over there and run only one or two of each of those per week...might give you more dealers and tables to allow 3500 players or alternates

Next year they need to make everyone register 24 hours before day 1a so they cant get an idea of how many people are playing and how many day 1's are needed. This way they can balance the days. The people playing on a day with 800 entrants are getting a far diffrent tournement than the people that have to play on a day with 3000 entrants. It doesnt matter who is at fault but Harrahs needs to fix it for next year. They also need to make it easier for people from overseas to sign up and hold a spot by phone. You cant turn people away. If 400 people get turned away thats 4 million dollars out of the prize pool.

First off - McCarthy, Vegas can careless if you don't come back. You're the one that's losing out.
I don't believe this is Harrahs fault at all. 4 DAY 1's!!! You've always got to expect the last day to be the busiest. Blame yourselves and nobody else. You could have picked the other days.
I'm sure the same thing will happen next year.

One more thing - FireJeffreyPollack is one stupid dude. Lawsuit?? For what? It's Harrah's tournament and they can do whatever they like...you idiot.
These 3000 players today were smart enough to sign up early and some got lucky the day of. This ain't Burger King, you can't do it your way.

I think the lesson to be learned from this is a simple one--if playing in the biggest, richest, most prestigious, and (most importantly) busiest poker tournament of the year is important enough to you, you'll do what you need to do to make sure you've got your spot. Registration opens four months before the tournament starts--that's more than ample opportunity.

I think the lesson to be learned from this is a simple one--if playing in the biggest, richest, most prestigious, and (most importantly) busiest poker tournament of the year is important enough to you, you'll do what you need to do to make sure you've got your spot. Registration opens four months before the tournament starts--that's more than ample opportunity.

it all started with hellmouth every one now thinks its ok too be late these people had plenty of time what 4 months isnt enough congrats too harrahs an other tourneys should do the same enter on time start on time

The history of WSOP, and most, if not all tournaments in the world, is the professional, semi-professional, and consistent poker gambler who is attempting to obtain their stake to get into the tournament; that is one of the reasons satellites exist and are spread.

Taking into account gaming laws, licensing issues, and space requirements, the reputation and history of WSOP is it is for everyone; not only the rich players who are able to post their stake ahead of time.

Poker is the poor person's stock market and their one chance and opportunity to accumulate cash and a poker playing bankroll.

This is not about the rich players but the poor players who think and feel they have a shot at the big time; to deny these players a shot goes against the grain of what poker is; not only the WSOP.

The real problem is not the scheduling, the mix ups, the confusions; the real problem is hiring management that are NOT semi-professional, professional poker players or simply persons who have a real love and understanding of the game and poker player culture.

In sports the winning teams and winning players are those who have experienced pros, coaches, consultants and managers tempered in the fire of their aport working for them.

It is time that Casinos, in general, hire management teams who understand poker, like poker, and play poker.

an too the idiot that said fire pollack your coming from around the world an you wait too the last minutes of an entry too the biggest tourney in the world now how smamt could you be lol an please where are these guys i want too play them in a cash game ...

There's fault on both sides. Players could have registered early, but many, as we've seen, never do. I too don't really decide to play certain events until the last minute. There's somehthing about that thrill of waiting and waiting and then deciding to pull the trigger. We're gamblers!

But having been playing at the Series, it seems to me that Harrahs would do something to make sure these "late" players are included. If 500 entrants were turned away, everybody loses: the tournement, the Rio, Las Vegas and the players.

Its hard to imagine that a casino would turn away one person with $10K, not to mention more than 500.

I realize that it must be a nightmare trying to process these tournment players, maintain security, and keep everyone happy. I personally think the Rio should have more staff to process players that want to register on the day of the event at the Rio. There's alot that could be done with more Rio tournment employees.

But here's an alternative I know would work: Establish a surcharge. In other words, if you don't pre register for an event, and you decide to register in person on the day of the event, you get a surcharge of say $1000. Poker players are all about the money, the online registration would sky rocket, there'd be less lines and less last minute registrations.

There were 4400 seats left over from days A, B & C....only 873 players on Saturday! I DON"T FEEL BAD FOR ANY OF THE IDIOTS THAT MISSED OUT!!!!!! You want to spend the cash to fly from England or Austrailia but too cheap to spend money on an extra night in the hotel, TOO BAD! ALL THE FAULT IS ON THE PLAYERS!!!!! You want to stay out late partying on the forth when only 800 players register, 1900 less than capacity, and you cry about getting locked out? Sounds like they're all going to be up 10K now.

There's fault on both sides. Players could have registered early, but many, as we've seen, never do. I too don't really decide to play certain events until the last minute. There's somehthing about that thrill of waiting and waiting and then deciding to pull the trigger. We're gamblers!

But having been playing at the Series, it seems to me that Harrahs would do something to make sure these "late" players are included. If 500 entrants were turned away, everybody loses: the tournement, the Rio, Las Vegas and the players.

Its hard to imagine that a casino would turn away one person with $10K, not to mention more than 500.

I realize that it must be a nightmare trying to process these tournment players, maintain security, and keep everyone happy. I personally think the Rio should have more staff to process players that want to register on the day of the event at the Rio. There's alot that could be done with more Rio tournment employees.

But here's an alternative I know would work: Establish a surcharge. In other words, if you don't pre register for an event, and you decide to register in person on the day of the event, you get a surcharge of say $1000. Poker players are all about the money, the online registration would sky rocket, there'd be less lines and less last minute registrations.

Being that the last day of Day 1 is generally the largest field of the first flight, showing up that day to register isn't the greatest of ideas. Now, I know that circumstances usually hold people back from registering early so I can understand why the average Joe who can't spend a month in Vegas and take off a month from work showed up at the last possible moment and is upset they were turned away. Yes, players could have registered earlier but if they had no reason to believe that Day 1d was going to reach capacity, why bother? I'd hang on to my $10,000 until the last minute too.

The bottom line here is that, WITHIN REASON, players should be able to register whenever they want BUT if you are going to take the risk of showing up at the last minute on the last (and most popular) day of the Main Event, DON'T be disappointed when you get turned away.

Harrahs and the WSOP aren't off the hook either. Honestly, I don't think that they had a plan of action in place in case something like this happened and that is simply NOT acceptable. As a business, Harrahs has to have some course of action in place for something like this. You can't simply turn away that amount of people and say "Sorry".

In their case, have policies to prevent sellouts from happening. You don't want to be putting fires out if you're a business, make sure they don't start. If you know the number of people that you can handle on any given day, make that EXTREMELY clear to all players, keep them informed on how many people have registered for Day 1a, 1b, etc., and have a clear and rigid policy that you CAN'T and WON'T accept any players once that number has been reached.

Here's what you do if you are Harrahs and the WSOP: Sit down before next year and come up with solutions and guidelines for when something like this happens. You HAVE to have a plan in place for even the unexpected; it's just good business.

Here's what you do if you are a player: If you don't absolutely have to, don't wait until the last minute to register for the tournament. Pre-register online if you can. If you can't, try getting a few days off of work to play an earlier Day 1. Do everything that YOU can as a player to make sure you're in the tournament well before people start using the word "capacity" or "sellout".

One thing they could do is allow fewer people to pre-register for Day 1d than 1a. This way more people will pre-register for the earlier days, reserving more "live" registrations the day of. Or charge a small fee to reserve days 1c or 1d (like $25).

When did it "lock out"? If you could have bought in at midnight the day before without issue, then it really sucks for you.

I wonder if they would consider paying a "reservation" fee in advance.

This reserve list then has until 7am the day of play to get in a special line to pay the 10k.

Once that line is locked up, they will know how many open seats there are.

Harrahs get $50 more in fees, people from England can book it as long as they get there before 7am.

This way they know they will get a seat.

It still won't help those signing up at 11am just an hour before, but that's no different than any other event.

Everyone EVERYONE that was turned away had ample opportunity to register. The only thing Harrah's has to answer to is why they advertised 3000 players each day and did not allow that number of players to register for 1D. Beyond that the players that were turned away should blame noone but themselves. You had almost 6 months to register, don't be upset because you decided to do so 60 minutes prior.

Mr. Pollack. You don't do a perfect job running the WSOP each year but perfection is impossible. You've done a great job with the tournaments and the year-to-year improvements (and desire to improve) are noteworthy. Great Job Pollack.

That's the beginning and the end of the discussion right there. A lot of people failed to learn about that, they always want to blame someone else. Some of those people are making comments in this thread.

I think some of the people who say that the ones who were turned are "cry babies" and other stuff is ridiculous, you have to realize that the 500 people standing outside are customers, what kind of business turns away that many customers. And im not saying that the players are without fault, they did have the opportunity to register earlier, and they should have, but did anyone at harrahs inform the players that one of the day ones could be sold out? how were they supposed to know that they couldnt register late?

For those who wanted to play in the WSOP Main Event, only 'life losers' missed out on getting to play. And they are the ones you will here the most complaints from. Everyone knows the last day is the busiest, and to turn up at the last minute is ..well..like gambling! LOL They could have planned ahead and made sure to register early. They could have entered any of the other 3 days with plenty of room to spare. It is good Harrahs stuck to their guns and did not change the rules. Never pander to the minority, especially when they aren't deserving.

I know why these degenerates wait for the fourth day to sign-up, its because they dont have enough time to scramble and come up with the 10k buy-ins. Most of them were probably on their hands and knees begging some loan shark for the 10K to get into the tournament. If some of these "pros" were'nt affiliated with a gambling website they probably had no cash to get in at the proper time. So tough cookies boys and girls. Save your dimes, there is always next year. LOL

I go to the movies late, and its sold out.
I go to a restaurant without a reservation and its totally booked.
I drop in to a hotel without a reservation and its full.
I wait to try to buy a concert ticket and its sold out.
I wait to ask a girl to the prom and she already has a date.

Not my fault?! Whose fault is it, then?

Is it the end of my life? How loud and long should I whine about being screwed?

Or should I just accept that I made a mistake, and I have no right to demand that the world change reality to accommodate me?

At ESPN.com there is an article by Gary Wise. Within the article he writes about T.J. Cloutier. Here is an excerpt...

T.J. Cloutier has made the final table of the main event three times. He's won six bracelets and played in the main event every year since 1983. This year, however, at 69 years of age, he's among those watching from the sidelines. Unlike so many of his fellow shutouts, he takes full responsibility for his situation. "It's only fair," said the Texan rounder, another member of the WSOP Players Advisory Council. "I should have signed up earlier. I'm not looking for special treatment."

We all make mistakes, and we should all learn to look at ourselves first when they happen. This is a stand up guy, making a first class statement. The rules were well known months in advance. The ability to pre-register for any of the days was available for MONTHS!!!!! The fact that 700 people ignored all of this have only the mirror to face.

Dude, if those 500 entrants were accomodated in violation of Nevada gaming regulations (which I understand was one of the biggest conerns Harrahs had--second only to logistics, I gathered), Harrahs' gaming license falls into jeopardy. If Harrahs loses their gaming license in Nevada, the demise of the WSOP is only the tip of the iceberg compared to the fallout within the Harrahs organization which would probably collapse since other jurisdictions would likely follow suit with Nevada and revoke Harrahs' gaming licenses in turn.

Now that I think about it, there's an even greater lesson to be learned than simply, "If it's that important to you to play, make sure you register in time." Poker has evolved from the culture of debatable repute it once had, particularly when it comes to the WSOP and environments like it (WPT, EPT, APPT, etc.--you get the idea). Those environments are more becoming of world class sporting entities than the seedy smoke-filled casinos, backrooms, and underground gaming facilities that once defined this game. In certain respects, poker most certainly has become a sport. Those who wish to play poker in world-class environments like the WSOP need to approach that endeavor with the same respect with which the David Beckhams of the world approach FIFA and the World Cup, the same respect with which Michael Phelps would approach any swim meet (including and not limited to the Olympics), with which the Lance Armstrongs of the world would approach the Tour de France and races like it...you get the idea. That means, among other things, making sure details are in order and you are adequately prepared to play when the time comes. If that's asking too much, then, by all means, you can go right back to playing the "big [yeah, right] game" at your local casino or the home game down the street that the local cops may or may not be fixin' to raid in the next day or two.

I'm new here but I think the best idea suggested here is also the fairest one. Stop permitting ANY registration after the start of the tournament (i.e., Day 1A) and balance all four days so that approximately the same number of players play on each Day 1 (within one or two tables anyway). This would completely eliminate any problem of lockout (if everyone had been there on Day 1A and entered, there was MORE than enough room for all of them. In fact, they could have skipped Day 1D and just done 1A, 1B and 1C with under 8000 entrants.

And everyone should stop whining about "poker traditions". Poker has sacrificed MANY traditions over the years, particularly in search of the almighty dollar. Hell, the BIGGEST tradition ever was given away 10+ years ago in order to get TV coverage. How many of you remember coverage of the Main Event BEFORE hole-card cameras? It was like watching paint dry in a very wet environment... BRUTAL! I sat around a table way back in 1994 listening to Mike Sexton passionately argue for why exposure of the hole cards was VITAL to the growth of the game and listening to almost everyone else (including at that bitch session TJ Cloutier and Ted Forrest) that it would NEVER HAPPEN, that that was the ONLY real advantage the best players had, i.e., the secrecy of how no one could ever totally decipher their game. Now, of course, they all sit in tournaments on TV night after night, giving away all their secrets, because EVERYONE knows it was the best thing that ever happened to poker (and certainly to the top pros).

Harrah's did right, and they should do righter next year. Make it really fair. If you want to enter, enter early or play your satellites early, whatever, just be there on time ready to play like all the rest of us.

Oh, and one more thing. It is nonsense to say that keeping 500 people out hurt Harrah's financially by mentioning 500 x $10,000 = $5,000,000. Yup, but all of that money goes into the prize pool (or most of it). The money Harrah's gets is about 5% (I forget and don't want to bother looking it up right now :-), and much of that goes to pay dealers so fewer people = fewer expenses. I expect Harrah's was happy to cap it and lock people out (except for all the bad PR flack they are taking from people who don't stop to think about things too much). It really costs them little or nothing as long as people keep coming back. And they will, they keep proving that year after year.

The most important thing to note is that you play the Main Event for one of two reasons: money or fame.

If you play it for MONEY, missing out is about a nit in terms of REAL loss. Walk down the street and use that $10,000 to play in a couple of other tournaments where a high stature pro probably has a lot better chance of winning anyway. The Main Event is almost like the Lotto now, looking at who is left after Day 6 (although it does prove that AGE can go the distance sometimes better than YOUTH, given that Dennis Phillips is one of the few guys still standing three years in a row at this point).

If, on the other hand, you play for FAME, then you have ZERO excuse for not being there already registered to play before the tournament starts. FAME has almost nothing to do with money so you should be able to pay your own entry fee and be ready to do it.

The only thing I would suggest to Harrah's which MIGHT encourage more early registrations and STILL permit people to try to satellite in is to offer a way to exchange a satellite ticket for most or all of your preregistration money back. That is the one problem the way it works today. If you register early with cash, then you have no way to satellite in late in the game. On the other hand, if you try to satellite in and keep trying up until it is too late, and THEN want to buy in a full price, it may be too late.

So either (a) stop registration early and balance the days, forcing EVERYONE to be there for the full tournament (which is indeed the fairest solution) or at least (b) let people preregister and pay, but allow them to swap their money out if they win a ticket from a satellite. That would guarantee them a place if they don't win the satellite events.

Of course, it wouldn't help the guy who isn't bankrolled suffiently to front the money for the full fee, but I bet there weren't too many of those anyway. I think most of those 500 folks were just dumbass lazy, procrastinating egocentrists who think the world should revolve around them. Get a life!

Oops, these are poker players we are talking about. I almost forgot! ROFLMFAO!

Oh, and one more thing. It is nonsense to say that keeping 500 people out hurt Harrah's financially by mentioning 500 x $10,000 = $5,000,000. Yup, but all of that money goes into the prize pool (or most of it). The money Harrah's gets is about 5% (I forget and don't want to bother looking it up right now :-), and much of that goes to pay dealers so fewer people = fewer expenses. I expect Harrah's was happy to cap it and lock people out (except for all the bad PR flack they are taking from people who don't stop to think about things too much). It really costs them little or nothing as long as people keep coming back. And they will, they keep proving that year after year.

The most important thing to note is that you play the Main Event for one of two reasons: money or fame.

If you play it for MONEY, missing out is about a nit in terms of REAL loss. Walk down the street and use that $10,000 to play in a couple of other tournaments where a high stature pro probably has a lot better chance of winning anyway. The Main Event is almost like the Lotto now, looking at who is left after Day 6 (although it does prove that AGE can go the distance sometimes better than YOUTH, given that Dennis Phillips is one of the few guys still standing three years in a row at this point).

If, on the other hand, you play for FAME, then you have ZERO excuse for not being there already registered to play before the tournament starts. FAME has almost nothing to do with money so you should be able to pay your own entry fee and be ready to do it.

The only thing I would suggest to Harrah's which MIGHT encourage more early registrations and STILL permit people to try to satellite in is to offer a way to exchange a satellite ticket for most or all of your preregistration money back. That is the one problem the way it works today. If you register early with cash, then you have no way to satellite in late in the game. On the other hand, if you try to satellite in and keep trying up until it is too late, and THEN want to buy in a full price, it may be too late.

So either (a) stop registration early and balance the days, forcing EVERYONE to be there for the full tournament (which is indeed the fairest solution) or at least (b) let people preregister and pay, but allow them to swap their money out if they win a ticket from a satellite. That would guarantee them a place if they don't win the satellite events.

Of course, it wouldn't help the guy who isn't bankrolled suffiently to front the money for the full fee, but I bet there weren't too many of those anyway. I think most of those 500 folks were just dumbass lazy, procrastinating egocentrists who think the world should revolve around them. Get a life!

Oops, these are poker players we are talking about. I almost forgot! ROFLMFAO!

Oh, and one more thing. It is nonsense to say that keeping 500 people out hurt Harrah's financially by mentioning 500 x $10,000 = $5,000,000. Yup, but all of that money goes into the prize pool (or most of it). The money Harrah's gets is about 5% (I forget and don't want to bother looking it up right now :-), and much of that goes to pay dealers so fewer people = fewer expenses. I expect Harrah's was happy to cap it and lock people out (except for all the bad PR flack they are taking from people who don't stop to think about things too much). It really costs them little or nothing as long as people keep coming back. And they will, they keep proving that year after year.

The most important thing to note is that you play the Main Event for one of two reasons: money or fame.

If you play it for MONEY, missing out is about a nit in terms of REAL loss. Walk down the street and use that $10,000 to play in a couple of other tournaments where a high stature pro probably has a lot better chance of winning anyway. The Main Event is almost like the Lotto now, looking at who is left after Day 6 (although it does prove that AGE can go the distance sometimes better than YOUTH, given that Dennis Phillips is one of the few guys still standing three years in a row at this point).

If, on the other hand, you play for FAME, then you have ZERO excuse for not being there already registered to play before the tournament starts. FAME has almost nothing to do with money so you should be able to pay your own entry fee and be ready to do it.

The only thing I would suggest to Harrah's which MIGHT encourage more early registrations and STILL permit people to try to satellite in is to offer a way to exchange a satellite ticket for most or all of your preregistration money back. That is the one problem the way it works today. If you register early with cash, then you have no way to satellite in late in the game. On the other hand, if you try to satellite in and keep trying up until it is too late, and THEN want to buy in a full price, it may be too late.

So either (a) stop registration early and balance the days, forcing EVERYONE to be there for the full tournament (which is indeed the fairest solution) or at least (b) let people preregister and pay, but allow them to swap their money out if they win a ticket from a satellite. That would guarantee them a place if they don't win the satellite events.

Of course, it wouldn't help the guy who isn't bankrolled suffiently to front the money for the full fee, but I bet there weren't too many of those anyway. I think most of those 500 folks were just dumbass lazy, procrastinating egocentrists who think the world should revolve around them. Get a life!

Oops, these are poker players we are talking about. I almost forgot! ROFLMFAO!

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